Estimating vehicle velocity

ABSTRACT

Techniques for using a set of variables to estimate a vehicle velocity of a vehicle are discussed herein. A system may determine an estimated velocity of the vehicle using a minimization based on an initial estimated velocity, steering angle data and wheel speed data. The system may then control an operation of the vehicle based at least in part on the estimated velocity.

BACKGROUND

A vehicle may include various sensors, which may be utilized for manydifferent purposes. For example, sensors may be used to detectinformation about a surrounding environment (e.g., other vehicles,roadway conditions, pedestrians, street signs, etc.), as well as tomonitor vehicle operations (e.g., braking, accelerating, steering,system(s) status, vehicle position, etc.). In some instances, dataderived from sensor data may be consumed by downstream operations. Forexample, vehicle velocity may be used for localization processes. Assuch, accuracy and reliability of the determinates derived from sensordata is important to allow the vehicle to safely and reliably navigatethrough an environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical components or features.

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of an example vehicle with twowheels turned at an angle.

FIG. 1B illustrates a plan view of the vehicle of FIG. 1A showing anestimated wheel angle and a measured command angle for each of the twowheels, as described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of a vehicle traversing a turn with twowheels rotated at respective angles, the schematic including variablesthat may be used to describe the turn or a component of the vehicle, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic of a vehicle traversing a turn with fourwheels rotated at respective angles, the schematic including variablesthat may be used to describe the turn or a component of the vehicle, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 4 includes a flow diagram illustrating an example process fordetermining estimated steering data, as described herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example system for performingtechniques as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This application relates to techniques for using a set of variables toestimate a vehicle velocity of a vehicle. As discussed above, accuracyand reliability of determinates derived from sensor data are importantto allow a vehicle to safely and reliably navigate through anenvironment. As used in this disclosure, the vehicle velocity is thevelocity of the body of the vehicle along the longitudinal orientationor axis of the vehicle. In some examples, the estimated vehicle velocitymay be estimated using an optimization, such as a least square fit orregression of one or more variables.

In examples of this disclosure, a yaw rate (e.g., from an inertialmeasurement unit, gyroscope, etc.), linear speeds at or near the wheels(e.g., from an encoder, tracked features from image sensors, etc.),wheel steering angles (e.g., a direction in which the wheel is pointedrelative the longitudinal orientation or axis of the vehicle) and/orvehicle dimensions (e.g., distance between the wheels and a turn-centerreference line), can be used to estimate the vehicle velocity.

In some examples, a least square regression may be performed to fit thesensor measurements (e.g., wheel speeds, steering angles and yaw rate)to a vehicle model. In some examples, the least square regression mayinclude estimating a location of the center of rotation of the vehicle.A vehicle's velocity may be transformed to a wheel to generaterespective estimated wheel velocities for one or more, including all,wheels. Errors may be computed between the magnitude of the estimatedwheel velocities and the measured wheel speeds at the wheels and betweenthe orientation of the estimated wheel velocities and the measuredsteering angles of the wheels along with associated Jacobians. Lossfunctions may also be applied. An iterative reweighted Gauss-Newtonfunction, or other optimization technique, may then be solved for thevehicle velocity.

Among other things, estimated vehicle velocities may provide redundancy(e.g., when determined in parallel with sensor based vehicle velocities)and validation and may be less susceptible to inaccuracies from loss oftire traction (e.g., in the case of wheel spins, etc.), modelinaccuracies, and the like. In addition, estimated vehicle velocitiesmay be used in various manners, such as for estimating vehicle pose orposition.

As mentioned above, vehicle velocity estimation may compensate forinaccuracies or errors in sensor data. For example, a vehicle mayinclude wheel speed encoders that may report wheel speed based onrotations of the wheel. The rotation rate reported may be multiplied bythe tire radius to determine the linear speed at the wheel. Such sensorsmay be inaccurate at low speeds due to a lack of rotations of the wheel.In some examples, the wheel speed encoder data may be supplemented byanother sensor such as sensor that reports a rotation speed of a gearbox. However, such gear box data may be low pass filtered and/ordelayed. In addition to sensor inaccuracies, the wheel may lose tractionagainst pavement, which can cause an inconsistency between the wheelspeed reported by the wheel speed sensors and the speed the wheel ismoving relative to the ground.

Additionally, a vehicle may include a steering motor that generates arotational output, which is transferred to a wheel and/or to lineartravel of a steering rack. A steering sensor may measure the rotation ofthe steering motor, and the rotation may be used to determine (e.g.,from a correlation between rotation and linear rack travel) steeringrack travel. In other examples, steering rack travel may be directlymeasured or may be derived from other sensor data associated with thesteering system or the suspension assembly. This steering data (e.g.,motor rotation data, rack travel distance, etc.) may in turn be used toestimate an angle of a wheel. In some instances, steering components(e.g., belts, racks, pinions, gear teeth, etc.) may experience slippage(e.g., mechanical slip) that can affect the accuracy of the steeringangle.

In examples of this disclosure, by estimating a vehicle velocity, thedetermination may avoid or mitigate inaccuracies that can arise fromrelying solely on data from the sensor systems. The estimated vehiclevelocity may be used in various respects to control vehicle operations.

For example, the estimated vehicle velocity may be compared to a sensordata to detect and/or flag conditions, such as wheel slip. In additionalexamples, the estimated vehicle velocity may be combined with a sensedvelocity (e.g., averaged) for use by downstream components (e.g.,localization). In addition, the estimated vehicle velocity may bedirectly used (e.g., independent of the sensed velocity) by downstreamprocesses to determine vehicle position or other vehicle states, whichmay be used for localization or other map-related operations.

The techniques described herein can be implemented in a number of waysto estimate vehicle velocity. Examples are provided below with referenceto FIGS. 1-5 . Examples are discussed in the context of autonomousvehicles; however, the methods, apparatuses, and components describedherein can be applied to a variety of components (e.g., a sensorcomponent or a robotic platform), and are not limited to autonomousvehicles. In one example, the techniques described herein may beutilized in driver-controlled vehicles. Furthermore, the techniquesdescribed herein can be used with real data (e.g., captured usingsensor(s)), simulated data (e.g., generated by a simulator), or anycombination of the two.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B illustrate different views of an example vehicle 102with components for estimating a velocity of the vehicle 102. FIG. 1Adepicts a perspective view of the vehicle 102, which is ghosted inbroken lines to help illustrate internally positioned components; andFIG. 1B presents a plan view of the vehicle 102. Among other things, thevehicle 102 includes a front end 104, a rear end 106, a left side 108,and a right side 110. In addition, for reference in this disclosure, thevehicle 102 includes a longitudinal axis 112 extending along afront-to-back orientation (e.g., longitudinal orientation) and a lateralaxis 114 extending along a side-to-side orientation (e.g., lateralorientation) and substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis112. Furthermore, a vertical axis 116 may extend top-to-bottom andperpendicular to the longitudinal axis 112 and to the lateral axis 114.FIG. 1A also depicts a yaw action 118, which indicates the vehicle 102may rotate relative to the vertical axis 116, such as when the vehicle102 executes a turn. For example, the vehicle 102 includes four wheels120 a-120 d, each oriented in a direction indicated by a respectivedirectional arrow 122 a-122 d. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the front wheels 120a and 120 b are depicted rotated at a steering angle towards the left ina direction indicated by a respective directional arrow 122 a and 122 b.The placement of the yaw action 118 in FIG. 1A illustrates an example,and a yaw action, yaw event, or yaw rotation may occur at variouslocations or positions of the vehicle 102.

In one example, the vehicle 102 is a bidirectional vehicle having afirst drive module positioned in the front end 104 and a second drivemodule positioned in the rear end 106. As used herein, a bidirectionalvehicle is one that is configured to switch between traveling in a firstdirection of the vehicle and a second, opposite, direction of thevehicle. In other words, there is no fixed “front” or “rear” of thevehicle 102. Rather, whichever longitudinal end of the vehicle 102 isleading at the time becomes the “front” and the trailing longitudinalend becomes the “rear.” In other examples, the techniques describedherein may be applied to vehicles other than bidirectional vehicles.Also, whether or not the vehicle is bidirectional, the first drive andsecond drive modules may be different from one another. For example, onedrive module may have a subset of the features of the other drivemodule. In one such example, the first drive module may include a first,comprehensive set of vehicle systems (e.g., drive motor, battery,steering system, braking system, suspension system, HVAC, sensors,lights, body panels, facia, etc.) while the second drive module includesa limited subset of vehicle systems (e.g., suspension system, brakingsystem, sensors, lights, and facia). In various instances, the wheelspositioned in the front end 104 are steerable, and the wheels positionedin the rear end 106 are also steerable, such that the vehicle 102includes four-wheel steering (e.g., including each set of wheels havingthe respective steering components). In other examples, the drivemodules may have one or more distinct or mutually exclusive vehiclesystems (e.g., one drive module has an HVAC system and the other drivemodule has a drive motor). As another non-limiting example of such, onemodule may have a first HVAC system while the other drive module has asecond HVAC system that is different from the first HVAC system.

In addition, the vehicle 102 may include various sensors for detectingone or more different conditions. For example, the vehicle 102 mayinclude sensors 124 a-124 d, any number of which may include aperception sensor for capturing data of an environment around thevehicle 102 (e.g., lidar, camera, time-of-flight, sonar, radar, etc.).These sensors 124 a-124 d may be used for various operations, such asobject detection, route planning, localization, etc. In at least oneexample, the vehicle 102 may also include a yaw rate sensor 125, such asan inertial measurement unit (IMU), gyroscope, or other sensor formeasuring a yaw rate of the vehicle 102. The position of the yaw ratesensor 125 is an example, and the yaw rate sensor 125 may includevarious other positions and/or orientations about the vehicle 102 and,in some examples, there may be multiple such sensors at those varyingpositions and/or orientations. In a further example, the vehicle 102 mayinclude one or more sensors 126 a-126 d (e.g., encoders) for measuring awheel speed of a respective wheel (e.g., determining a linear speed ofthe vehicle 102 at a wheel). In FIG. 1A, the sensors 126 a and 126 c aredepicted in broken lines to convey that, in some examples, the sensors126 a and 126 c may be obscured behind a respective wheel (at least fromthe perspective provided in FIG. 1A). Additionally, or alternatively, animaging sensor displaced proximate a wheel may be used to estimatelinear velocity proximate the wheel based on, for example, trackingfeatures detected on a road surface. These are just some examples ofsensors, and the vehicle may include other sensors, such as thosedescribed with respect to the system 500. In addition, the placement ofthe sensors relative to the vehicle 102 in FIG. 1A is an example, and inother examples, the sensors (e.g., 124 a-124 d and 125) may be arrangedat other positions on the vehicle 102.

In additional examples, the vehicle 102 may include various steeringcomponents, such as a steering motor 128 and a steering rack 130 thatoperate to affect a steering angle of wheels 120 a-120 d. For example,the steering motor 128 may generate a rotational output based onsteering input (e.g., direction and amount) from a manually operatedsteering wheel (not shown), from a computing device (e.g., planning 536in FIG. 5 ), or from a combination thereof. The rotational output may betransferred to the steering rack 130 to create linear steering racktravel in one direction or another. The steering rack 130 may interfacewith a wheel at a knuckle of the suspension assembly or some othercoupling that transfers the linear rack travel to the wheel to cause thewheel to pivot or rotate about an axis. In examples, the vehicle 102 mayinclude one or more steering sensors 132 for determining steering dataassociated with the steering angle of the wheels 120 a-120 d. Forexample, referring to FIG. 1B, the orientations of the front wheels 120a and 120 b are illustrated with the directional arrows 122 a and 122 bwith the wheel angles 136 a and 136 b (e.g., 136 a/Θ and 136 b/Θ′ ofwheels 120 a and 120 b, respectively.

In some examples, the steering sensor 132 may determine an amount ofsteering-motor rotation, an amount of steering rack travel, or otherdata, which may be related to the steering angle of each wheel. In someexamples, a steering angle may be estimated based on non-steeringvariables (e.g., due to a difference between intended or commandedsteering angles and the actual steering angles of the wheels). In atleast one example, the steering angle may be estimated as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/364,161 (titled “Estimating Angle OfA Vehicle Wheel Based On Non-Steering Variables” and filed Jun. 30,2021), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and forall purposes. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a steering assembly is depicted in thefront end 104 and rear end 106 of the vehicle. In other aspects, onlyone end of the vehicle may include a steering assembly while the otherend may be fixed. Alternative aspects of the disclosure may include adifferent steering arrangement. For example, each suspension assemblymay include a respective steering motor that, without a shared or commonsteering rack, affects the steering angle of a wheel (e.g., by rotatingabout a steering axis). As such, the steering motor rotation may affectthe wheel steering angle without relying on the shared or commonsteering rack.

FIG. 2 schematically depicts vehicle 102 executing a curved trajectory200 (or turn maneuver), which is illustrated by the dashed line circlesin FIG. 2 . In FIG. 2 , the curved trajectory 200 includes a turn center204 (or rotation center), and a turn-center reference line 140 (see alsothe turn-center reference line 140 in FIG. 1B), which extends throughthe turn center 204 and normal to the longitudinal axis 112 of thevehicle 102. In addition, based on the dimensions of the vehicle 102, anoffset distance 142 for the wheel 120 b and an offset distance 251 forthe wheel 120 a (FIGS. 1B and 2 ) extends perpendicularly from theturn-center reference line 140 to the center of the wheel 120 b. Ingeneral, the offset distances 142 and 251 extend from the wheel (e.g., arotation axis of the wheel) to a position aligned with the turn center204 and/or the turn-center reference line 140 (e.g., aligned along aplane or line extending through the turn center 204 and normal to thelongitudinal orientation of the vehicle).

The turn center 204 and the turn-center reference line 140 may beestablished using various techniques. For example, if a vehicle isexecuting a turn using only front-wheel steering (while the rear wheeldo not rotate about a steering axis), such as the vehicle 102 in FIG. 2in which the front left wheel 120 b and the front right wheel 120 arotate about a steering axis, then the turn-center reference line 140 isco-axial with a rear axle of the vehicle, and the offset distance may bepre-determined based on vehicle dimensions. In other examples, the turncenter 204 may be at an intersection of a radius (R′) 246 (e.g., of thecurve or arc traversed by the front left wheel 120 b) and a radius (R)247 (e.g., of the curve or arc traversed by the front right wheel 120a). These radii (and the resulting turn center) may be estimated fromvarious data, such as the steering angles of the wheels (e.g., wheelangles 136 a and 136 b.

Furthermore, in some examples of this disclosure, a yaw rate (ω) 218 maybe received from a yaw rate sensor (e.g., IMU, gyroscope, etc.) and alinear velocity at each wheel (e.g., linear velocity (V) 243 and linearvelocity (V′) 244) may be derived from a variety of different sources.For example, in some instances, linear velocity at each wheel may bederived from data received from an encoder (or other sensor, such asradar).

FIG. 2 depicts additional variables with respect to each of the frontwheels 120 a and 120 b. For example, FIG. 2 depicts a wheel angle 136 a(Θ) associated with the wheel 120 a, as well as a central angle 249(Θ_(CA)) between the turn-center reference line 140, the turn center204, and a radius (R) 247 intersecting the center of the wheel 120 a. Inaddition, FIG. 2 depicts a wheel angle 136 b (Θ′) associated with thewheel 120 b, as well as a central angle 248 (Θ_(CA)′) between theturn-center reference line 140, the turn center 204, and a radius (R′)246 intersecting the center of the wheel 120 a. In examples, the wheelangle associated with a wheel is equal to the central angle associatedwith the wheel.

Referring to FIG. 3 , another example is depicted including a schematicof a vehicle 302 executing a curved trajectory 300, which is illustratedby the dashed line circles. In FIG. 3 , the vehicle 302 includesfour-wheel steering, such that the front wheels 320 a and 320 b and theback wheels 320 c and 320 d pivot or rotate about a respective steeringaxis to an angle when executing the curved trajectory. In examples ofthis disclosure, as between the vehicle 102 executing two-wheel steeringand the vehicle 302 executing four-wheel steering, the respectiveturn-center reference lines may be different. For example, in FIG. 3 ,the curved trajectory 300 includes a turn center 304, and a turn-centerreference line 340, which extends through the turn center 304 and normalto the longitudinal axis 312 of the vehicle 302. As explained above, theturn center 304 and the turn center-reference line 340 may be determinedin various manners, such as based on the steering angles of the wheels(e.g., at an intersection of a radius of two or more of the wheels). Forexample, a radius 346 of the curve or arc traversed by each wheelextends from the turn center 304 to the respective wheel. In someexamples, the turn center 304 may be determined as the intersection ofthe radius of wheels 320 b and 320 c (e.g., radius 346 b and radius 346c). In addition, where the left-side wheels (e.g., front-left wheel andback-left wheel) include similar angles (except in different directions)and the right-side wheels (e.g., front-right wheel and back-right wheel)includes similar angles (except in different directions), then theturn-center reference line 340 may bisect a gap spacing apart the frontaxle and the rear axle. Furthermore, based on the dimensions of thevehicle 302, an offset distance 342 extends perpendicularly from theturn-center reference line 340 to the center of each wheel. Furthermore,a yaw rate (ω) 318 may be received from a yaw rate sensor (e.g., IMU,gyroscope, etc.) and a linear wheel velocity (V) 344 may be derived fromdata (e.g., rotation rate) received from an encoder (or other sensor).FIG. 3 illustrates the variables as they relate to the wheel 320 c, andsimilar (but respective) variables may be determined for each of theother wheels 320 a, 320 b, and 320 d.

Based on the variables depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 , various functions maybe expressed to describe relationships among the variables (e.g., afunction to determine the turn center as discussed above). Further, asdiscussed below with respect to FIG. 4 , using variables shown in FIGS.1-3 , an estimated vehicle velocity 260 or 360 may be estimated using aleast squares method or algorithm (e.g., an iterative reweightedGauss-Newton algorithm). Among other things, a vehicle velocity may beused to estimate relative positions (e.g., poses) of the vehicle as thevehicle executes one or more maneuvers, and in this respect, therelative position may be at least partially based on the wheel angle,yaw and wheel speed sensor data. In some examples, a relative positionof the vehicle may be based at least partially on the estimated vehiclevelocity as determined based on the least squares method.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example process involving techniques asdescribed herein. The process illustrated in FIG. 4 may be describedwith reference to components and elements described above with referenceto FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2 , and/or 3 for convenience and ease of understanding.However, the process illustrated in FIG. 4 is not limited to beingperformed using these components, and the components are not limited toperforming the process illustrated in FIG. 4 . The process illustratedin FIG. 4 is illustrated as a logical flow graph, each operation ofwhich represents a sequence of operations that can be implemented inhardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context ofsoftware, the operations represent computer-executable instructionsstored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, whenexecuted by one or more processors, perform the recited operations.Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, and the like that performparticular functions or implement particular abstract data types. Theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be omitted or combined in any order and/or in parallel to implementthe process.

FIG. 4 includes a flow diagram with operations or blocks for a process400 for determining an estimated vehicle velocity (e.g., estimatedvelocity), the estimated vehicle velocity being usable to control anoperation of the vehicle. For example, the process 400 may be used todetermine an estimated vehicle velocity 260 or 360.

The process 400 may include, at block 402, receiving sensor data and/ordeterminates thereof such as wheel speed sensor data, yaw sensor data,wheel steering angle data, etc. For example, sensor data may be receivedfrom the yaw rate sensor 124 (e.g., IMU, gyroscope, etc.), wheel speedencoders 126 and steering sensors 132. At block 404, the process 400 mayinclude determining a turn center of the vehicle (e.g., turn center 204or 304). At block 406, the process 400 may include determining aninitial vehicle velocity (V). The initial vehicle velocity (V) mayinclude an orientation perpendicular to a radius to the turn center anda magnitude that may be computed as the average of the linear wheelspeeds (e.g., calculated based on a wheel sensor reported rotation speedmultiplied by tire circumference).

Generally, blocks 408-412 may be performed for each wheel (e.g., asdetermined by block 414), followed by block 416. Blocks 408-416 may inturn be performed iteratively for one or more iterations (e.g., asdetermined by block 418), followed by block 420. For example, block 418may iterate the operations of blocks 408-416 for a set number ofiterations or until a condition is met (e.g., minimization of a sum ofsquares or until a sum of squares is below a threshold).

Turning to block 408, the process 400 may include transforming thecurrent estimated velocity (V) to an estimated velocity at a currentwheel (V_(w)). More particularly, the transformation from the currentestimated velocity to the estimated velocity at the current wheel may bedetermined as:V _(w) =V+ω×rwhere ω is the yaw rotation rate and r is the lever arm from theposition of the center of the vehicle to the position of the wheel andω×r is the cross product between the vectors ω and r. In other words, insome examples, estimated velocity at each wheel may be determined orsolved using the current estimated velocity of the vehicle (e.g.,current estimated velocity of the vehicle at the vehicle center), theyaw rate, and a vector between the position (e.g., coordinates) of thecenter of the vehicle wheel and the position of the wheel.

At block 410, the process may include computing an estimated velocitymagnitude error for the current wheel (e.g., an error between ∥V_(w)∥and a measured wheel speed) and an associated Jacobian. Moreparticularly, the error (e) and the Jacobian (J) (e.g., the magnitudeJacobian) for the velocity magnitude error of the current wheel may bedetermined as:

e = ❘v_(measured)❘ − V_(w) $J = \frac{V_{w}}{V_{w}}$where v_(measured) is the sensor based linear speed of the wheel.

In some examples, the error and Jacobian may be scaled according to anexpected measurement error (σ_(ws)) for the wheel speed sensors.Additionally, a weighting function, such as the Cauchy weightingfunction or Cauchy loss function, may be applied. In an example, aCauchy weight (e.g., magnitude weight) may be determined as:

${{cauchy}\left( {e,k} \right)} = \frac{1}{1 + \left( \frac{e}{k} \right)^{2}}$where k is a constant parameter and may be tuned to reject bad sensordata (e.g., 3 may be a standard value to reject data that is more thanthree sigma away).

At block 412, the process may include computing an estimated velocityorientation error for the current wheel (e.g., an error between theorientation of V_(w) and the steering angle) and an associated Jacobian.More particularly, the error (e) for the velocity orientation error ofthe current wheel may be determined as:e=sin_(measured)−sin_(predicted)where sin_(measured) is the sinus of the measured steering angle (e.g.,from the steering sensors for the current wheel) and sin_(predicted) thesinus of the angle of predicted velocity given by:

$\sin_{predicted} = \frac{V_{wy}}{\left( {{V_{w}} + K} \right)}$where K is a regularizer that may have a small value used to take careof the case where ∥V_(w)∥ is very small, and may be computed as afunction of the magnitude of the initial velocity.

The corresponding Jacobian for the velocity orientation error (e.g., theorientation Jacobian) may be determined as:

$J_{x} = \frac{{- V_{wx}} \star V_{wy}}{{V_{w}} \star \left( {{V_{w}} + K} \right)^{2}}$$J_{y} = \frac{\frac{- V_{wx}^{2}}{V_{w}} + K}{\left( {{V_{w}} + K} \right)^{2}}$

As discussed above, in some examples, the error and Jacobian may bescaled according to an expected measurement error (σ_(ws)) for thesteering angle sensors. Additionally, a weighting function, such as theCauchy weighting function or Cauchy loss function, may be applied. In anexample, a Cauchy weight (e.g., orientation weight) may be determinedas:

${{cauchy}\left( {e,k} \right)} = \frac{1}{1 + \left( \frac{e}{k} \right)^{2}}$where k is a constant parameter and may be tuned to reject bad sensordata (e.g., 3 may be a standard value to reject data that is more thanthree sigma away).

As mentioned above, at block 414, the process 400 may includedetermining if blocks 408-412 have not been performed for the currentestimated velocity (V_(w)) for another wheel. If so, the process 400 mayreturn to block 408 for the next wheel. Otherwise, the process 400 maycontinue to 416.

At block 416, the process 400 may include solving for the next iterationof V. More particularly, the process 400 may include solving the GaussNewtonian algorithm to update the estimated velocity as:V=V+(J ^(T) J)⁻¹ J ^(T)*residuals

One of ordinary skill in the art would understand how to perform theGauss-Newton procedure and, as such, the details thereof are notincluded herein to avoid prolix.

At block 418, the process 400 may include determining if anotheriteration of blocks 408-416 is to be performed. If so, the process 400may return to 408 for the next iteration based on the updated estimatedvelocity (V). Otherwise, the process 400 may continue to block 420. Asmentioned above, block 418 may iterate the operations of blocks 408-416for a set number of iterations or until a condition is met (e.g.,minimization of a sum of squares, until a sum of squares is below athreshold, until the update portion of the above equation is below athreshold, etc.).

At block 420, the process 400 may include outputting the estimatedvelocity. As mentioned above, the vehicle may be controlled based on theestimated velocity output at block 420. For example, the estimatedvelocity may be used for localization or other downstream operations. Inaddition, if a difference (e.g., variance) between the estimatedvelocity and a velocity based on the wheel speed sensors exceeds athreshold, then a slip event (e.g., wheel slip, mechanical slippage,vehicle skid, etc.) may be flagged (e.g., recorded, reported, tracked,etc.) indicating the subject wheel may have lost traction or slipped.This in turn may generate a signal to the vehicle to regain control,such as by adjusting the steering, applying brakes, reducing anacceleration, powering opposite wheels, depressing or releasing athrottle, etc. In further examples, if a total count or frequency ofslip events exceeds a threshold, then maintenance may be suggested(e.g., check tire tread or steering components). In additional examples,if slip events are flagged at multiple wheels, then a vehicle-skid eventmay be flagged indicating the vehicle skidded across a ground surface.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an example system 500 for implementingthe techniques described herein. In at least one example, the system 500can include a vehicle 502. In the illustrated example system 500, thevehicle 502 is an autonomous vehicle; however, the vehicle 502 can beany other type of vehicle. The vehicle 502 may be the vehicle 102depicted in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2 and 3 and/or perform the process depicted inFIG. 4 .

The vehicle 502 can be a driverless vehicle, such as an autonomousvehicle configured to operate according to a Level 5 classificationissued by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, whichdescribes a vehicle capable of performing all safety-critical functionsfor the entire trip, with the driver (or occupant) not being expected tocontrol the vehicle at any time. In such examples, because the vehicle502 can be configured to control all functions from start to completionof the trip, including all parking functions, it may not include adriver and/or controls for driving the vehicle 502, such as a steeringwheel, an acceleration pedal, and/or a brake pedal. This is merely anexample, and the systems and methods described herein may beincorporated into any ground-borne, airborne, or waterborne vehicle,including those ranging from vehicles that need to be manuallycontrolled by a driver at all times, to those that are partially orfully autonomously controlled.

The vehicle 502 can include one or more computing device(s) 504, one ormore sensor system(s) 506, one or more emitter(s) 508, one or morecommunication connection(s) 510 (also referred to as communicationdevices and/or modems), at least one direct connection 512 (e.g., forphysically coupling with the vehicle 502 to exchange data and/or toprovide power), and one or more drive system(s) 514. The one or moresensor system(s) 506 can be configured to capture sensor data associatedwith an environment.

The one or more sensor system(s) 506 can include time-of-flight sensors,location sensors (e.g., GPS, compass, etc.), inertial sensors (e.g.,sensor 124 including inertial measurement units (IMUs), accelerometers,magnetometers, gyroscopes, etc.), lidar sensors, radar sensors, sonarsensors, infrared sensors, cameras (e.g., RGB, IR, intensity, depth,etc.), microphone sensors, environmental sensors (e.g., temperaturesensors, humidity sensors, light sensors, pressure sensors, etc.),ultrasonic transducers, wheel encoders (e.g., 126 a-126 d), ball jointsensors, chassis position sensors, etc. The one or more sensor system(s)506 can include multiple instances of each of these or other types ofsensors. For instance, the time-of-flight sensors can include individualtime-of-flight sensors located at the corners, front, back, sides,and/or top of the vehicle 502. As another example, the camera sensorscan include multiple cameras disposed at various locations about theexterior and/or interior of the vehicle 502. The one or more sensorsystem(s) 506 can provide input to the computing device 504.

The vehicle 502 can also include one or more emitter(s) 508 for emittinglight and/or sound. The one or more emitter(s) 508 in this exampleinclude interior audio and visual emitters to communicate withpassengers of the vehicle 502. By way of example and not limitation,interior emitters can include speakers, lights, signs, display screens,touch screens, haptic emitters (e.g., vibration and/or force feedback),mechanical actuators (e.g., seatbelt tensioners, seat positioners,headrest positioners, etc.), and the like. The one or more emitter(s)508 in this example also include exterior emitters. By way of exampleand not limitation, the exterior emitters in this example include lightsto signal a direction of travel or other indicator of vehicle action(e.g., indicator lights, signs, light arrays, etc.), and one or moreaudio emitters (e.g., speakers, speaker arrays, horns, etc.) to audiblycommunicate with pedestrians or other nearby vehicles, one or more ofwhich may comprise acoustic beam steering technology.

The vehicle 502 can also include one or more communication connection(s)510 that enable communication between the vehicle 502 and one or moreother local or remote computing device(s) (e.g., a remote teleoperationcomputing device) or remote services. For instance, the one or morecommunication connection(s) 510 can facilitate communication with otherlocal computing device(s) on the vehicle 502 and/or the one or moredrive system(s) 514. Also, the one or more communication connection(s)510 can allow the vehicle 502 to communicate with other nearby computingdevice(s) (e.g., other nearby vehicles, traffic signals, etc.).

The one or more communications connection(s) 510 can include physicaland/or logical interfaces for connecting the computing device 504 toanother computing device or one or more external networks 542 (e.g., theInternet). For example, the one or more communications connection(s) 510can enable Wi-Fi-based communication such as via frequencies defined bythe IEEE 802.11 standards, short range wireless frequencies such asBluetooth, cellular communication (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.),satellite communication, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), orany suitable wired or wireless communications protocol that enables therespective computing device to interface with the other computingdevice(s).

In at least one example, the vehicle 502 can include one or more drivesystem(s) 514. In some examples, the vehicle 502 can have a single drivesystem 514. In at least one example, if the vehicle 502 has multipledrive systems 514, individual drive systems 514 can be positioned onopposite ends of the vehicle 502 (e.g., the front and the rear, etc.).In at least one example, the drive system(s) 514 can include one or moresensor system(s) 506 to detect conditions of the drive system(s) 514and/or the surroundings of the vehicle 502. By way of example and notlimitation, the sensor system(s) 506 can include one or more wheelencoders (e.g., rotary encoders) to sense rotation of the wheels of thedrive systems, steering sensors to detect wheel angles of the wheels,inertial sensors (e.g., inertial measurement units, accelerometers,gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc.) to measure orientation and accelerationof the drive system, cameras or other image sensors, ultrasonic sensorsto acoustically detect objects in the surroundings of the drive system,lidar sensors, radar sensors, etc. Some sensors, such as the wheelencoders can be unique to the drive system(s) 514. In some cases, thesensor system(s) 506 on the drive system(s) 514 can overlap orsupplement corresponding systems of the vehicle 502 (e.g., sensorsystem(s) 506). The drive system(s) 514 may also include one or moresteering motors (e.g., 128), steering motor sensors (e.g., 132), andsteering racks (e.g., 130).

The drive system(s) 514 can include many of the vehicle systems,including a high voltage battery, a motor to propel the vehicle, aninverter to convert direct current from the battery into alternatingcurrent for use by other vehicle systems, a steering system including asteering motor and steering rack (which can be electric), a brakingsystem including hydraulic or electric actuators, a suspension systemincluding hydraulic and/or pneumatic components, a stability controlsystem for distributing brake forces to mitigate loss of traction andmaintain control, an HVAC system, lighting (e.g., lighting such ashead/tail lights to illuminate an exterior surrounding of the vehicle),and one or more other systems (e.g., cooling system, safety systems,onboard charging system, other electrical components such as a DC/DCconverter, a high voltage junction, a high voltage cable, chargingsystem, charge port, etc.). Additionally, the drive system(s) 514 caninclude a drive system controller which can receive and preprocess datafrom the sensor system(s) 506 and to control operation of the variousvehicle systems. In some examples, the drive system controller caninclude one or more processor(s) and memory communicatively coupled withthe one or more processor(s). The memory can store one or morecomponents to perform various functionalities of the drive system(s)514. Furthermore, the drive system(s) 514 also include one or morecommunication connection(s) that enable communication by the respectivedrive system with one or more other local or remote computing device(s).

The computing device 504 can include one or more processor(s) 516 andmemory 518 communicatively coupled with the one or more processor(s)516. In the illustrated example, the memory 518 of the computing device504 stores a perception component 520, a localization component 524, avelocity monitor 530, a prediction component 534, a planning component536, a maps component 538, and one or more system controller(s) 540.Though depicted as residing in the memory 518 for illustrative purposes,it is contemplated that the perception component 520, the localizationcomponent 524, the velocity monitor 530, the prediction component 534,the planning component 536, the maps component 538, and the one or moresystem controller(s) 540 can additionally, or alternatively, beaccessible to the computing device 504 (e.g., stored in a differentcomponent of vehicle 502) and/or be accessible to the vehicle 502 (e.g.,stored remotely).

The perception component 520 can include functionality to perform objectdetection, segmentation, and/or classification. In some examples, theperception component 520 can provide processed sensor data thatindicates a presence of an entity that is proximate to the vehicle 502and/or a classification of the entity as an entity type (e.g., car,pedestrian, cyclist, building, tree, road surface, curb, sidewalk,unknown, etc.). In additional and/or alternative examples, theperception component 520 can provide processed sensor data thatindicates one or more characteristics associated with a detected entityand/or the environment in which the entity is positioned. In someexamples, characteristics associated with an entity can include, but arenot limited to, an x-position (global position), a y-position (globalposition), a z-position (global position), an orientation, an entitytype (e.g., a classification), a velocity of the entity, an extent ofthe entity (size), etc. Characteristics associated with the environmentcan include, but are not limited to, a presence of another entity in theenvironment, a state of another entity in the environment, a time ofday, a day of a week, a season, a weather condition, an indication ofdarkness/light, etc. In one example, the perception component 520 maydetect a ground surface and determine a ride height based on sensordata.

Further, the perception component 520 can include functionality to storeperception data generated by the perception component 520. In someinstances, the perception component 520 can determine a trackcorresponding to an object that has been classified as an object type.For purposes of illustration only, the perception component 520, usingsensor system(s) 506 can capture one or more images of an environment,which may be used to determine information about an environment.

The stored perception data can, in some examples, include fusedperception data captured by the vehicle. Fused perception data caninclude a fusion or other combination of sensor data from sensorsystem(s) 506, such as image sensors, lidar sensors, radar sensors,time-of-flight sensors, sonar sensors, global positioning systemsensors, internal sensors, and/or any combination of these. The storedperception data can additionally or alternatively include classificationdata including semantic classifications of objects (e.g., pedestrians,vehicles, buildings, road surfaces, etc.) represented in the sensordata. The stored perception data can additionally or alternativelyinclude track data (positions, orientations, sensor features, etc.)corresponding to motion of objects classified as dynamic objects throughthe environment. The track data can include multiple tracks of multipledifferent objects over time. This track data can be mined to identifyimages of certain types of objects (e.g., pedestrians, animals, etc.) attimes when the object is stationary (e.g., standing still) or moving(e.g., walking, running, etc.). In this example, the computing devicedetermines a track corresponding to a pedestrian.

In general, the perception component 520 can detect (among other things)semantic objects represented by sensor data. In some examples, theperception component 520 can identify such semantic objects and candetermine a two-dimensional or a three-dimensional bounding boxassociated with the object. The perception component 520 can determineadditional information such as a location, orientation, pose, and/orsize (e.g., length, width, height, etc.) associated with the object. Theperception component 520 can send data to other components of the system500 for localization and/or determining calibration information, asdiscussed herein.

The localization component 524 can include functionality to receive datafrom the sensor system(s) 506 and/or other components to determine aposition of the vehicle 502. For example, the localization component 524can include and/or request/receive a three-dimensional map of anenvironment and can continuously determine a location of the autonomousvehicle within the map. In some instances, the localization component524 can use SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) or CLAMS(calibration, localization and mapping, simultaneously) to receivetime-of-flight data, image data, lidar data, radar data, sonar data, IMUdata, GPS data, wheel encoder data, or any combination thereof, and thelike to accurately determine a location of the autonomous vehicle. Insome instances, the localization component 524 can provide data tovarious components of the vehicle 502 to determine an initial positionof an autonomous vehicle for generating a trajectory or for initialcalibration. In examples of this disclosure, the localization component524 may determine a position of the vehicle 502 based on the estimatedvehicle velocity. That is, the estimated vehicle velocity may bedirectly used to determine position and/or may be used to validate otherinformation (e.g., measured velocities and/or speeds) for determiningposition.

The velocity monitor 530 may determine an estimated vehicle velocity ofthe vehicle 502 (e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1A-4 ).For example, the velocity monitor 530 may communicate with (or receivedata provided by) the sensor system(s) (e.g., yaw rate sensor, wheelencoder, steering sensor, etc.), and, based on data from the sensorsystem(s) determine an estimated vehicle velocity as discussed abovewith respect to FIG. 4 . The velocity monitor 530 may communicate theestimated vehicle velocity to other systems (e.g., localization 524) ormay use the estimated vehicle velocity to validate measured velocitiesand speeds. Furthermore, the velocity monitor 530 may also execute otheroperations described in this disclosure, including those described withrespect to FIGS. 1A-4 .

The prediction component 534 can generate one or more probability mapsrepresenting prediction probabilities of possible locations of one ormore objects in an environment. For example, the prediction component534 can generate one or more probability maps for vehicles, pedestrians,animals, and the like within a threshold distance from the vehicle 502.In some instances, the prediction component 534 can measure a track ofan object and generate a discretized prediction probability map, a heatmap, a probability distribution, a discretized probability distribution,and/or a trajectory for the object based on observed and predictedbehavior. In some instances, the one or more probability maps canrepresent an intent of the one or more objects in the environment.

The planning component 536 can determine a path for the vehicle 502 tofollow to traverse through an environment. For example, the planningcomponent 536 can determine various routes and paths and various levelsof detail. In some instances, the planning component 536 can determine aroute to travel from a first location (e.g., a current location) to asecond location (e.g., a target location). For the purpose of thisdiscussion, a route can be a sequence of waypoints for traveling betweentwo locations. As non-limiting examples, waypoints include streets,intersections, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, etc.Further, the planning component 536 can generate an instruction forguiding the autonomous vehicle along at least a portion of the routefrom the first location to the second location. In at least one example,the planning component 536 can determine how to guide the autonomousvehicle from a first waypoint in the sequence of waypoints to a secondwaypoint in the sequence of waypoints. In some examples, the instructioncan be a path, or a portion of a path. In some examples, multiple pathscan be substantially simultaneously generated (i.e., within technicaltolerances) in accordance with a receding horizon technique. A singlepath of the multiple paths in a receding data horizon having the highestconfidence level may be selected to operate the vehicle.

In other examples, the planning component 536 can alternatively, oradditionally, use data from the perception component 520 and/or theprediction component 534 to determine a path for the vehicle 502 tofollow to traverse through an environment. For example, the planningcomponent 536 can receive data from the perception component 520 and/orthe prediction component 534 regarding objects associated with anenvironment. Using this data, the planning component 536 can determine aroute to travel from a first location (e.g., a current location) to asecond location (e.g., a target location) to avoid objects in anenvironment. In at least some examples, such a planning component 536may determine there is no such collision free path and, in turn, providea path which brings vehicle 502 to a safe stop avoiding all collisionsand/or otherwise mitigating damage.

The memory 518 can further include a maps component 538 that can be usedby the vehicle 502 to navigate within the environment. For the purposeof this discussion, a map can be any number of data structures modeledin two dimensions, three dimensions, or N-dimensions that are capable ofproviding information about an environment, such as, but not limited to,topologies (such as intersections), streets, mountain ranges, roads,terrain, and the environment in general. A map can further include anobject identifier, an object classification, a three-dimensionallocation, covariance data (e.g., represented in image data or amulti-resolution voxel space), and the like. In some instances, a mapcan include, but is not limited to: texture information (e.g., colorinformation (e.g., RGB color information, Lab color information, HSV/HSLcolor information), and the like), intensity information (e.g., LIDARinformation, RADAR information, and the like); spatial information(e.g., image data projected onto a mesh, individual “surfels” (e.g.,polygons associated with individual color and/or intensity)),reflectivity information (e.g., specularity information,retroreflectivity information, BRDF information, BSSRDF information, andthe like). In one example, a map can include a three-dimensional mesh ofthe environment. In some instances, the map can be stored in a tiledformat, such that individual tiles of the map represent a discreteportion of an environment, and can be loaded into working memory asneeded, as discussed herein. In at least one example, the one or moremaps 538 can include at least one map (e.g., images and/or a mesh). Insome examples, the vehicle 502 can be controlled based at least in parton the map(s) component 538. That is, the map(s) component 538 can beused in connection with the perception component 520 (andsub-components), the localization component 524 (and sub-components),the prediction component 534, and/or the planning component 536 todetermine a location of the vehicle 502, identify objects in anenvironment, generate prediction probabilit(ies) associated with objectsand/or the vehicle 502, and/or generate routes and/or trajectories tonavigate within an environment.

In at least one example, the computing device 504 can include one ormore system controller(s) 540, which can be configured to controlsteering, propulsion, braking, safety, emitters, communication, andother systems of the vehicle 502. These system controller(s) 540 cancommunicate with and/or control corresponding systems of the drivesystem(s) 514 and/or other components of the vehicle 502, which may beconfigured to operate in accordance with a path provided from theplanning component 536.

The vehicle 502 can connect to computing device(s) 544 via network 542and can include one or more processor(s) 546 and memory 548communicatively coupled with the one or more processor(s) 546. In atleast one instance, the one or more processor(s) 546 can be similar tothe processor(s) 516 and the memory 548 can be similar to the memory518. In the illustrated example, the memory 548 of the computingdevice(s) 544 stores a remote operation component 550 and/or a modelcomponent 552. In at least one instance, the model component 552, afterempirical testing and/or simulations, can include the models fordetermining a location and/or determining a calibration parameter, asdiscussed herein. Though depicted as residing in the memory 548 forillustrative purposes, it is contemplated that the remote operationcomponent 550 and the model component 552 can additionally, oralternatively, be accessible to the computing device(s) 544 (e.g.,stored in a different component of computing device(s) 544 and/or beaccessible to the computing device(s) 544 (e.g., stored remotely).

The remote operation component 550 can include functionality to receivean indication of wheel-slip events, vehicle-skid events,steering-component slippage, and/or a request for preventativemaintenance (e.g., based on a difference (e.g., variance) betweenestimated and measured vehicle velocity). In some examples, the remoteoperation component 550 can schedule a maintenance operation based on avehicle velocity difference (e.g., variance) or a determination by thevehicle 502 that a difference is indicative of a degraded state (e.g.,when sensor data is inconsistent with estimated vehicle velocity). Insome examples, a remote operation component 550 can includeteleoperators or operators who can control the vehicle 502 or canprovide instructions to the vehicle based on a skid event (e.g., where avehicle skid event suggest a loss of control).

The model component 552 can include functionality to generate models fordetermining a location and/or determine slip or skid events, asdiscussed herein. For example, the model component 552 can receivesensor data and can determine an estimated vehicle velocity associatedwith such sensor data. The model component 552 can aggregate data acrossa plurality of vehicles (e.g., a fleet of vehicles) to determine vehiclevelocity variances indicative of normal operations and vehicle velocityvariances indicative of degraded operations. Further, the modelcomponent 552 can associate a vehicle velocity variance with a timeperiod of operating a sensor and a performance of components associatedwith such metrics to determine a predictive maintenance scheduleassociated with various sensors, as discussed herein.

The processor(s) 516 of the computing device 504 and the processor(s)546 of the computing device(s) 544 can be any suitable processor capableof executing instructions to process data and perform operations asdescribed herein. By way of example and not limitation, the processor(s)516 and 546 can comprise one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs),Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), or any other device or portion of adevice that processes electronic data to transform that electronic datainto other electronic data that can be stored in registers and/ormemory. In some examples, integrated circuits (e.g., ASICs, etc.), gatearrays (e.g., FPGAs, etc.), and other hardware devices can also beconsidered processors in so far as they are configured to implementencoded instructions.

The memory 518 computing device 504 and the memory 548 of the computingdevice(s) 544 are examples of non-transitory computer-readable media.The memory 518 and 548 can store an operating system and one or moresoftware applications, instructions, programs, and/or data to implementthe methods described herein and the functions attributed to the varioussystems. In various implementations, the memory 518 and 548 can beimplemented using any suitable memory technology, such as static randomaccess memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM),nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type of memory capable ofstoring information. The architectures, systems, and individual elementsdescribed herein can include many other logical, programmatic, andphysical components, of which those shown in the accompanying figuresare merely examples that are related to the discussion herein.

In some instances, aspects of some or all of the components discussedherein can include any models, algorithms, and/or machine-learningalgorithms. For example, in some instances, the components in the memory518 and 548 can be implemented as a neural network. In some examples, amachine learned model could be trained to determine an estimated vehiclevelocity, slip event, skid event, or other condition of the vehiclebased on sensor data received from the yaw rate sensor, encoder,steering sensor, etc.

As described herein, an exemplary neural network is a biologicallyinspired algorithm which passes input data through a series of connectedlayers to produce an output. Each layer in a neural network can alsocomprise another neural network, or can comprise any number of layers(whether convolutional or not). As can be understood in the context ofthis disclosure, a neural network can utilize machine learning, whichcan refer to a broad class of such algorithms in which an output isgenerated based on learned parameters.

Although discussed in the context of neural networks, any type ofmachine learning can be used consistent with this disclosure. Forexample, machine learning or machine-learned algorithms can include, butare not limited to, regression algorithms (e.g., ordinary least squaresregression (OLSR), linear regression, logistic regression, stepwiseregression, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), locallyestimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS)), instance-based algorithms(e.g., ridge regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO), elastic net, least-angle regression (LARS)), decisions treealgorithms (e.g., classification and regression tree (CART), iterativedichotomiser 3 (ID3), Chi-squared automatic interaction detection(CHAID), decision stump, conditional decision trees), Bayesianalgorithms (e.g., naïve Bayes, Gaussian naïve Bayes, multinomial naïveBayes, average one-dependence estimators (AODE), Bayesian belief network(BNN), Bayesian networks), clustering algorithms (e.g., k-means,k-medians, expectation maximization (EM), hierarchical clustering),association rule learning algorithms (e.g., perceptron,back-propagation, hopfield network, Radial Basis Function Network(RBFN)), deep learning algorithms (e.g., Deep Boltzmann Machine (DBM),Deep Belief Networks (DBN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), StackedAuto-Encoders), Dimensionality Reduction Algorithms (e.g., PrincipalComponent Analysis (PCA), Principal Component Regression (PCR), PartialLeast Squares Regression (PLSR), Sammon Mapping, MultidimensionalScaling (MDS), Projection Pursuit, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA),Mixture Discriminant Analysis (MDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis(QDA), Flexible Discriminant Analysis (FDA)), Ensemble Algorithms (e.g.,Boosting, Bootstrapped Aggregation (Bagging), AdaBoost, StackedGeneralization (blending), Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM), GradientBoosted Regression Trees (GBRT), Random Forest), SVM (support vectormachine), supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervisedlearning, etc.

Additional examples of architectures include neural networks such asResNet50, ResNet101, VGG, DenseNet, PointNet, and the like.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1-5 , techniques describedherein can be useful for estimating a vehicle velocity of a vehicle. Asdescribed, a yaw rate, wheel speeds, steering angles and vehicledimensions can be used to estimate the vehicle velocity. Among otherthings, the estimated vehicle velocity may provide redundancy (e.g.,when determined in parallel with (in addition to) sensor basedvelocities and/or speeds) and validation and may be less susceptible toinaccuracies from loss of tire traction and other events.

EXAMPLE CLAUSES

Clause A: A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executableby the one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed,cause the system to perform operations comprising: determining, based atleast in part on first sensor data associated with a first sensor, asteering angle of a wheel of a plurality of wheels associated with avehicle; determining, based at least in part on the steering angle, aturn center of the vehicle; determining an estimated velocity of thevehicle comprising performing a least square algorithm based on a yawrate of the vehicle, the steering angle and a linear wheel speed of thewheel; and controlling an operation of the vehicle based at least inpart on the estimated velocity.

Clause B: The system of clause A, wherein the least square algorithm isfurther based on an initial estimated velocity of the vehicle, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onsecond sensor data associated with at least one second sensor, a linearwheel speed of at least two wheels of the plurality of wheels of thevehicle; and determining the initial estimated velocity based at leastin part on the turn center and an average linear wheel speed of the atleast two wheels of the plurality of wheels of the vehicle.

Clause C: The system of clause B, wherein determining the initialestimated velocity comprises: determining an initial estimated velocityorientation based at least in part on the turn center; and determiningan initial estimated velocity magnitude based at least in part on theaverage linear wheel speed of the at least two wheels of the pluralityof wheels of the vehicle.

Clause D: The system of clause C, wherein operations further comprise:determining, based at least in part on third sensor data from a thirdsensor, the yaw rate of the vehicle; and wherein the least squarealgorithm comprises: determining a first estimated wheel velocity bytransforming the initial estimated velocity from a position of a centerof the vehicle to a position of the wheel based at least in part on theyaw rate, the initial estimated velocity, the position of the center ofthe vehicle and the position of the wheel.

Clause E: The system of clause A, wherein controlling an operation ofthe vehicle based at least in part on the estimated velocity compensatesfor a wheel slip of one of the plurality of wheels of the vehicle.

Clause F: A method comprising: determining, based at least in part onfirst sensor data associated with a first sensor, a steering angle of awheel of a plurality of wheels associated with a vehicle; determining,based at least in part on the steering angle, a turn center of thevehicle; determining an estimated velocity of the vehicle based on a yawrate of the vehicle, the turn center, the steering angle and a wheelspeed of the wheel; and controlling an operation of the vehicle based atleast in part on the estimated velocity.

Clause G: The method of clause F, wherein determining the estimatedvelocity of the vehicle is further based on an initial estimatedvelocity of the vehicle, the method further comprising: determining,based at least in part on second sensor data associated with at leastone second sensor, an average linear wheel speed of at least two wheelsof the plurality of wheels of the vehicle; and determining the initialestimated velocity based at least in part on the turn center and theaverage linear wheel speed of the at least two wheels of the pluralityof wheels of the vehicle.

Clause H: The method of clause G, wherein determining the initialestimated velocity of the vehicle comprises: determining an initialestimated velocity orientation based at least in part on the turncenter; and determining an initial estimated velocity magnitude based atleast in part on the average linear wheel speed.

Clause I: The method of claim G, further comprising: determining, basedat least in part on third sensor data from a third sensor, the yaw rateof the vehicle; and wherein determining the estimated velocity comprisesperforming an iterative least squares algorithm comprising: determiningan initial estimated wheel velocity by transforming the initialestimated velocity from a position of a center of the vehicle to aposition proximate the wheel based at least in part on the yaw rate.

Clause J: The method of clause I, wherein performing the iterative leastsquares algorithm further comprises: determining a magnitude errorbetween a magnitude of the initial estimated wheel velocity and thewheel speed of the wheel; determining an orientation error between anorientation of the initial estimated wheel velocity and the steeringangle; determining a magnitude Jacobian based at least in part on themagnitude of the initial estimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed ofthe wheel; and determining an orientation Jacobian based at least inpart on the orientation of the initial estimated wheel velocity and thesteering angle.

Clause K: The method of clause J, wherein performing the iterative leastsquares algorithm further comprises: determining a magnitude weightusing a first Cauchy loss function based at least in part on themagnitude error and the magnitude Jacobian; and determining anorientation weight using a second Cauchy loss function based at least inpart on the orientation error and the orientation Jacobian.

Clause L: The method of clause K, wherein performing the iterative leastsquares algorithm further comprises: determining the estimated velocitybased on the initial estimated velocity, the magnitude error, themagnitude Jacobian, the magnitude weight, the orientation error, theorientation Jacobian and the orientation weight.

Clause M: The method of clause F, wherein determining the estimatedvelocity comprises performing an iterative reweighted Gauss-Newtonalgorithm.

Clause N: One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storinginstructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors toperform operations comprising: determining, based at least in part onfirst sensor data associated with a first sensor, a steering angle of awheel of a plurality of wheels associated with a vehicle; determining,based at least in part on the steering angle, a turn center of thevehicle; determining an estimated velocity of the vehicle based on a yawrate of the vehicle, the turn center, the steering angle and a wheelspeed of the wheel; and controlling an operation of the vehicle based atleast in part on the estimated velocity.

Clause O: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause N, wherein determining the estimated velocity of the vehicle isfurther based on an initial estimated velocity of the vehicle, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onsecond sensor data associated with at least one second sensor, anaverage linear wheel speed of at least two wheels of the plurality ofwheels of the vehicle; and determining the initial estimated velocitybased at least in part on the turn center and the average linear wheelspeed of the at least two wheels of the plurality of wheels of thevehicle.

Clause P: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause O, wherein determining the initial estimated velocity of thevehicle comprises: determining an initial estimated velocity orientationbased at least in part on the turn center; and determining an initialestimated velocity magnitude based at least in part on the averagelinear wheel speed.

Clause Q: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause O, the operations further comprising: determining, based at leastin part on third sensor data from a third sensor, the yaw rate of thevehicle; and wherein determining the estimated velocity comprisesperforming an iterative least squares algorithm comprising: determiningan initial estimated wheel velocity by transforming the initialestimated velocity from a position of a center of the vehicle to aposition proximate the wheel based at least in part on the yaw rate.

Clause R: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause Q, wherein performing the iterative least squares algorithmfurther comprises: determining a magnitude error between a magnitude ofthe initial estimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel;determining an orientation error between an orientation of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the steering angle; determining a magnitudeJacobian based at least in part on the magnitude of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel; anddetermining an orientation Jacobian based at least in part on theorientation of the initial estimated wheel velocity and the steeringangle.

Clause S: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause R, wherein performing the iterative least squares algorithmfurther comprises: determining a magnitude weight using a first Cauchyloss function based at least in part on the magnitude error and themagnitude Jacobian; determining an orientation weight using a secondCauchy loss function based at least in part on the orientation error andthe orientation Jacobian; and determining the estimated velocity basedon the initial estimated velocity, the magnitude error, the magnitudeJacobian, the magnitude weight, the orientation error, the orientationJacobian and the orientation weight.

Clause T: The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclause N, wherein determining the estimated velocity comprisesperforming an iterative reweighted Gauss-Newton algorithm.

While the example clauses described above are described with respect toone particular implementation, it should be understood that, in thecontext of this document, the content of the example clauses may also beimplemented via a method, device, system, a computer-readable medium,and/or another implementation. Additionally, any of examples A-T may beimplemented alone or in combination with any other one or more of theexamples A-T.

CONCLUSION

While one or more examples of the techniques described herein have beendescribed, various alterations, additions, permutations and equivalentsthereof are included within the scope of the techniques describedherein.

In the description of examples, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, which show by way of illustrationspecific examples of the claimed subject matter. It is to be understoodthat other examples can be used and that changes or alterations, such asstructural changes, can be made. Such examples, changes or alterationsare not necessarily departures from the scope with respect to theintended claimed subject matter. While the steps herein can be presentedin a certain order, in some cases the ordering can be changed so thatcertain inputs are provided at different times or in a different orderwithout changing the function of the systems and methods described. Thedisclosed procedures could also be executed in different orders.Additionally, various computations that are herein need not be performedin the order disclosed, and other examples using alternative orderingsof the computations could be readily implemented. In addition to beingreordered, the computations could also be decomposed intosub-computations with the same results.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: one or more processors; andone or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the system to perform operations comprising:determining, based at least in part on first sensor data associated witha first sensor, a steering angle of a wheel of a plurality of wheelsassociated with a vehicle; determining, based at least in part on thesteering angle, a turn center of the vehicle; determining an estimatedvelocity of the vehicle comprising performing a least square algorithmbased on a yaw rate of the vehicle, the steering angle and a linearwheel speed of the wheel; and controlling an operation of the vehiclebased at least in part on the estimated velocity.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the least square algorithm is further based on an initialestimated velocity of the vehicle, the operations further comprising:determining, based at least in part on second sensor data associatedwith at least one second sensor, a linear wheel speed of at least twowheels of the plurality of wheels of the vehicle; and determining theinitial estimated velocity based at least in part on the turn center andan average linear wheel speed of the at least two wheels of theplurality of wheels of the vehicle.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereindetermining the initial estimated velocity comprises: determining aninitial estimated velocity orientation based at least in part on theturn center; and determining an initial estimated velocity magnitudebased at least in part on the average linear wheel speed of the at leasttwo wheels of the plurality of wheels of the vehicle.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein operations further comprise: determining, based atleast in part on third sensor data from a third sensor, the yaw rate ofthe vehicle; and wherein the least square algorithm comprises:determining a first estimated wheel velocity by transforming the initialestimated velocity from a position of a center of the vehicle to aposition of the wheel based at least in part on the yaw rate, theinitial estimated velocity, the position of the center of the vehicleand the position of the wheel.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereincontrolling an operation of the vehicle based at least in part on theestimated velocity compensates for a wheel slip of one of the pluralityof wheels of the vehicle.
 6. A method comprising: determining, based atleast in part on first sensor data associated with a first sensor, asteering angle of a wheel of a plurality of wheels associated with avehicle; determining, based at least in part on the steering angle, aturn center of the vehicle; determining an estimated velocity of thevehicle based on a yaw rate of the vehicle, the turn center, thesteering angle and a wheel speed of the wheel; and controlling anoperation of the vehicle based at least in part on the estimatedvelocity.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the estimatedvelocity of the vehicle is further based on an initial estimatedvelocity of the vehicle, the method further comprising: determining,based at least in part on second sensor data associated with at leastone second sensor, an average linear wheel speed of at least two wheelsof the plurality of wheels of the vehicle; and determining the initialestimated velocity based at least in part on the turn center and theaverage linear wheel speed of the at least two wheels of the pluralityof wheels of the vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein determiningthe initial estimated velocity of the vehicle comprises: determining aninitial estimated velocity orientation based at least in part on theturn center; and determining an initial estimated velocity magnitudebased at least in part on the average linear wheel speed.
 9. The methodof claim 7, further comprising: determining, based at least in part onthird sensor data from a third sensor, the yaw rate of the vehicle; andwherein determining the estimated velocity comprises performing aniterative least squares algorithm comprising: determining an initialestimated wheel velocity by transforming the initial estimated velocityfrom a position of a center of the vehicle to a position proximate thewheel based at least in part on the yaw rate.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein performing the iterative least squares algorithm furthercomprises: determining a magnitude error between a magnitude of theinitial estimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel;determining an orientation error between an orientation of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the steering angle; determining a magnitudeJacobian based at least in part on the magnitude of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel; anddetermining an orientation Jacobian based at least in part on theorientation of the initial estimated wheel velocity and the steeringangle.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein performing the iterativeleast squares algorithm further comprises: determining a magnitudeweight using a first Cauchy loss function based at least in part on themagnitude error and the magnitude Jacobian; and determining anorientation weight using a second Cauchy loss function based at least inpart on the orientation error and the orientation Jacobian.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein performing the iterative least squaresalgorithm further comprises: determining the estimated velocity based onthe initial estimated velocity, the magnitude error, the magnitudeJacobian, the magnitude weight, the orientation error, the orientationJacobian and the orientation weight.
 13. The method of claim 6, whereindetermining the estimated velocity comprises performing an iterativereweighted Gauss-Newton algorithm.
 14. One or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed, causeone or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining,based at least in part on first sensor data associated with a firstsensor, a steering angle of a wheel of a plurality of wheels associatedwith a vehicle; determining, based at least in part on the steeringangle, a turn center of the vehicle; determining an estimated velocityof the vehicle based on a yaw rate of the vehicle, the turn center, thesteering angle and a wheel speed of the wheel; and controlling anoperation of the vehicle based at least in part on the estimatedvelocity.
 15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 14, wherein determining the estimated velocity of the vehicle isfurther based on an initial estimated velocity of the vehicle, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onsecond sensor data associated with at least one second sensor, anaverage linear wheel speed of at least two wheels of the plurality ofwheels of the vehicle; and determining the initial estimated velocitybased at least in part on the turn center and the average linear wheelspeed of the at least two wheels of the plurality of wheels of thevehicle.
 16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 15, wherein determining the initial estimated velocity of thevehicle comprises: determining an initial estimated velocity orientationbased at least in part on the turn center; and determining an initialestimated velocity magnitude based at least in part on the averagelinear wheel speed.
 17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 15, the operations further comprising: determining, basedat least in part on third sensor data from a third sensor, the yaw rateof the vehicle; and wherein determining the estimated velocity comprisesperforming an iterative least squares algorithm comprising: determiningan initial estimated wheel velocity by transforming the initialestimated velocity from a position of a center of the vehicle to aposition proximate the wheel based at least in part on the yaw rate. 18.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17,wherein performing the iterative least squares algorithm furthercomprises: determining a magnitude error between a magnitude of theinitial estimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel;determining an orientation error between an orientation of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the steering angle; determining a magnitudeJacobian based at least in part on the magnitude of the initialestimated wheel velocity and the wheel speed of the wheel; anddetermining an orientation Jacobian based at least in part on theorientation of the initial estimated wheel velocity and the steeringangle.
 19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 18, wherein performing the iterative least squares algorithmfurther comprises: determining a magnitude weight using a first Cauchyloss function based at least in part on the magnitude error and themagnitude Jacobian; determining an orientation weight using a secondCauchy loss function based at least in part on the orientation error andthe orientation Jacobian; and determining the estimated velocity basedon the initial estimated velocity, the magnitude error, the magnitudeJacobian, the magnitude weight, the orientation error, the orientationJacobian and the orientation weight.
 20. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 14, wherein determining the estimatedvelocity comprises performing an iterative reweighted Gauss-Newtonalgorithm.